Pasture species and trait prioritisaton

Summary

The investment profile and delivery structure for forage plant breeding and evaluation has been the subject of numerous reviews in recent years.  There was an increased emphasis of examination of the role of government in investment and a desire for the private sector to invest in near market and commercial activities.  This saw an increase in the number of public:private partnerships and a focus of public sector and industry investment in generic technologies and areas of market failure.   
This process was endorsed by the PISC R, D & E process and was consistent with recent developments in plant breeding investment and delivery in the grains and horticulture industries. A number of MLA reviews including the recent FIP have highlighted potential areas for MLA investment that are consistent with this overarching framework and have the potential to add value to the Australian red meat industries through the provision of improved forage genetics to an informed market place.  These include: 
Development of objective evaluation programs 

Development of technologies to describe and increase genetic gain in forage species 

Development of programs that develop and utilise modern genetic tools (genomics, bioinformatics, quantitative genetics etc) to provide novel tools and traits for forage plants 

Extending the range of adaption of existing species through selection 

Unfortunately, the implementation of changes to investment and activity in forage plant breeding has often occurred on a project by project basis as projects become eligible for renewed funding rather than an integrated strategic assessment of research priorities. This workshop is an action from the Feedbase Investment Plan and had 4 main aims: 
- To review and endorse a funding model for pasture plant breeding and evaluation in Australia that recognizes the respective roles of public and private sector agencies 
- To develop a list of priority species by region based on adaptation, current and future use 
- To develop a list of priority traits based on their likely benefit in red meat production systems 
- To identify potential programs and project areas and recommend a path for developing and contracting these project.